Who are we?
Statewide Education Organizing Committee (SEOC) is made up of public school parents and community leaders from urban and low-income school districts who have come together to work and fight for improvements in the education system.
What's New?
Paterson Chapter Wins Back School Music and Arts Programs
When her daughter's school laid off their music and art teachers, Lucy Roche, PEOC member, was concerned. Her daughter is an accomplished musician, and Ms. Roche worried about the cost of paying for private lessons. She brought the issue to PEOC, and as PEOC members learned that many schools in Paterson, particularly elementary schools, had cut their music and art programs, the group formed a campaign to reestablish these programs in the schools. “That's what really got the fire going under the campaign,” explains PEOC parent leader Linda Reid, discussing the group's reaction to Ms. Roche's story. Read More...
Meet Tina Cintron
President of SEOC since 2006
Parent Leader from Newark
Tina's first experience with organizing for change came when she was in her twenties and joined her boyfriend in a successful sit-in to demand that their New York City church provide daycare for the community. Her boyfriend was active in the Young Lords, an organization devoted to grassroots community service and improvement, and she saw first-hand how the group's service and organizing could affect the community.
Many years later, a homeowner in the north ward of Newark and married to that boyfriend, Tina was disturbed that her neighborhood lacked basic public services. On garbage collection days the cans were strewn across the street rather than put back in place, and sometimes people had to pay bribes to get their garbage picked up. Even worse, although there was a car stolen or a car accident on her street nearly every day, the only time police were visible there was when they were ticketing cars for illegal parking during street sweeping. Read More...
